May 29, 2009

The media over the past few days has been thrown into a frenzy over someone who has now been labeled as the "Chk Chk Boom" girl. Most of the controversy is centred around the use of her language and whether or not it's been deemed racist. Can I just say here, that this is a hopeless misdirection of media attention and that what we have witnessed is something far sinister.

Oh, she didn't actually see what had happened and was trying to profiteer from it, but three other people had, and what they saw was in fact a murder.

This is murder mind you - the willful taking of a human life by another individual. Why are we not shocked and or outraged at this? Are we so desensitised that even if someone is killed before our very eyes we still don't care?

One of the three witnesses described the events as "awesome". Awesome? How and even why is it "awesome" that someone's been killed? This person was even able to identify the murder weapon as a Glock 9mm, but again the media is more concerned with racism than the fact that people have witnessed a murder. Are we really that vapid?

This is disgusting reporting by all media outlets involved. I'm personally holding everyone in contempt and especially the Channel 9 network. This makes me sick.

May 28, 2009

I read this on the Nine MSN website this afternoon:http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/819015/mitsubishi-offers-free-goat-with-uteMitsubishi Motors is offering a free goat with every Triton ute sold before August in a novel effort at correcting the economy.Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand general sales and marketing manager Peter Wilkins said the economy's recovery was in the hands of the rural sector, and goats, like Tritons, were "hardy, versatile units which will integrate directly into existing farm operations".

Er, ok...

Thinking that it was some sort of hoax, I then checked The Motor Report because this sounded so incredibly stupid. But no...

It’s true: according to Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand General Sales and Marketing Manager Peter Wilkins, goats - like the Triton - are “hardy, versatile units which will integrate directly into existing farm operations,” and that’s why the company is offering a free goat with the 2009 Mitsubishi Triton.

Is this some sort of joke? What happens if we check the Mitsubishi NZ website itself?http://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.nz/corporate/news/news_item_0168.asp“We’ll supply a free goat with every Triton sold before August and do our bit to loosen the grip of the recession”.“On the off chance that the purchaser already has enough goats or feels that goat herding is better left to those in drier climes, we’ll supply a ‘no goat package’ consisting of a five-year/100,000km extended warranty, five free WOF inspections, 5,000km road user charges, five years of roadside assistance and $500 of genuine or approved Triton accessories,” Mr Wilkins said

So there you have it, straight from the... goat's mouth. Buy a Mitsubishi Triton in New Zealand by August 1 and you'll get a free goat... for real. Seriously.

"I think by definition [it was racism] - there were even columnists who wrote stories that said it was. But my point is that does exist and it's got to change because the world is full of a lot of people and most economies have to take advantage - including Australia - of a diverse set of people.If there is a belief that only a certain people are acceptable versus others, that is a sad state."- Sol Trujillo

By definition it was racism? Really? I think that Mr Trujillo needs some education here. Racism as defined by the OED is either:1. prejudice based on the grounds of race2. antagonism towards people of other races

For Mr Trujillo's claim to be upheld, then criticism of him must be on the grounds of race, surely? This however isn't the case. Why would a so-called racist society appoint someone to a highly paid position at one of the biggest profitable companies in the first place, if it was racist?

One of my favourite quotes on this subject was that of that great statesman Martin Luther King, Jr."I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."Take note of that Mr Trujillo. How exactly have you been judged? Think about this objectively.

When you took over Telstra, its share price was $5.68, as at today it's still not recovered and sits at a paltry $3.08. People who have invested their money have seen half of its value wiped off the deck under your fine management. This isn't just play money either, it's real people's wealth that has been destroyed.

Think about the 10,143 people who's full time jobs have been cut since his arrival. Are they likely to cast a favourable review over you? What happens to those people who've had their livelihoods kicked out from under them?

Last year CEPU spokesman Burt Blackburne said that Mr Trujillo would be remembered for short changing workers while accepting a massive salary."He's done very well out of the company. He's a person whose current wage increase is something like $13.4 million, a 14 per cent increase over last year, while the workers in Telstra who've made all the profits suffer pay cuts and other sort of difficulties within the company."

Even I myself who have been scathing of him never actually critisied you Mr Trujillo on the grounds of race:As an economist you should have seen this, it's because you are a farty trumped-up little smeghead who's more concerned with worshiping the great god Dollar than using common-sense that you haven't got.http://rollo75.blogspot.com/2005/09/horse-397-full-theft-of-telstra-1.htmlInvective? Yes. Blunt? Yes. Racist? That might be a little difficult to prove.

Is it actually racism? Or is this merely some piece of invective concocted in your head? I think that you'll find that you haven't been judged on the grounds of your race at all but precisely by the content of your character, and it has found to be very much lacking. A parting shot like this after you've walked away with just over $33m further proves this case.

The criticism Mr Trujillo is not based on your race at all but you personally.

May 25, 2009

English Football take notice: There is a revolution about to start on Tyneside and I suspect that the ramifications could be big.

Alan Shearer who was appointed manager at Newcastle Utd, really had a baptism of fire to management. With only 8 games to turn the club around, he had a massive job ahead of him - he didn't. This leaves Newcastle with a £70m wage bill and a year back in the Championship.Take not of that last line - a year back in the Championship. I suspect that Shearer by next May will have guided his side back to the Premier League and with teeth.

"I wasn't good enough, Mike Ashley is not good enough, the same with Chris Hughton, Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear (who have all managed Newcastle this season), people in the dressing room, all of us.I was shocked at the state of the club when I came in. I was aware of mistakes that had been made. There are huge problems at the club. They are there for everyone to see. It's not just about today. It has gone on this season, last season, the season before, four seasons ago. It is a culmination of everything.Players need to go, players need to come in and those guys (in charge) need to decide where the football club is going to go. I'll give my opinion on that and then we'll see where we get."- Alan Shearer, to BBC Five Live.

This is not a manager feeling the loss over going down. He was already back at work on Monday plotting the next season. Therein lies something which hasn't been seen at Newcastle in a while. Ticker and heart.

Shearer will probably be retained as manager; will be given a season of less difficult opponents. Life in the Championship should be a little less hectic for him, but I have a vague feeling that without the pry of the media every ten seconds, a new steel will be forged on the Tyne. In 46 league games time, Newcastle will be back in the Premier League... Mark these words well.

Inertia comes from the Latin word, "iners", meaning idle, or lazy. More specifically it refers to the concept contained in Sir Issac Newton's First Law of Motion -"A body persists its state of rest or of uniform motion unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force."

I had a think back to my days as a high school student, and more specifically this video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by-7kkAu2PgThe tagline right at the end was this:Objects are lazy - things like to keep on doing what they're already doing.

I have also said I have an infinite capacity for lethargy - it's true - and there too lies a necessity of transformation which my inertia resists.Is BJD implying that he must be an object somewhere in the universe; an object which obeys the First Law of Motion? The word Inertia itself implies laziness however there's something else wrapped up in that word - an object in motion will remain in motion. If BJD is working hard, does that imply that he'll continue to work hard under the very same law of inertia?

Footnote: Have I just inadvertently condemned people to watching hours of Eureka! on Youtube? I hope so, maybe they'll learn something.

May 20, 2009

Our friend the Cruze, the hope of Holden and current competitor in the WTCC has shown that it truly did earn it's five star safety rating. I have never once heard before of a collision involving the Safety Car before, but follow the link and that's what you get.

On Sunday at Pau (Macau), Tom Boardman's suspension broke and he stopped on tracking causing the safety car to be deployed. The safety car came out onto the track very late, cutting right across Franz Engstler's BMW, leaving him no space to go but right into the back of the safety car.

It makes you wonder what sort of numpty was behind wheel of the Safety Car though, that guy had to be a complete idiot to jump straight onto the racing line. It's little more than a case of outright poor driving, it's almost a blind corner and you don't expect a slow car on the racing line. It's fortunate that this wasn't a worse incident.

Holden’s latest import, the Cruze, is all set to go on sale here next month, with pricing to start at a very competitive $20,990 for the Cruze CD manual.

It’ll slot into Holden’s lineup where the dearly departed Astra used to sit, however it won’t directly replace it. That’s the job of the Australian-built Cruze hatch, which is expected to arrive in 2010.

May 13, 2009

The future of Holden's second-best seller is under review, with currency fluctuations and commodity price increases threatening the future of the European-built Astra.Holden has put a stop on imports of the Astra while it conducts price negotiations with Opel, the European subsidiary of General Motors that manufactures the vehicles.

"The Astra is being studied at the moment and until we come to an agreement with Opel on pricing, we've placed orders on hold. For competitive reasons, we'd rather not talk about our small-car strategy. Astra's a great car but it has to make business sense for us"

With the loss of most of the Holden Commodore's export markets and the closure of the Family II engine plant, Holden appears to have taken yet another step closer to non-existence by the virtual cancellation of the Astra.

Now admittedly the car has sort of been replaced by inference by the Holden Cruze, but bear in mind that this was originally intended also with export in mind and considering that was before GM was staring down the barrel of bankruptcy, that hope has been destroyed.

In Australia we've already lost the chance to get our hands on the Corsa D, and the Insignia which won the European Car of the Year for 2009. Dropping the Astra now means that we lose it before the next change of model, which is due in September 2009 when the Astra I is released. I should also mention that we're also going to miss out on the upcoming 250bhp Astra VXR as well. Thanks Holden... just thanks.

We'll never get to see this on our roads, thanks to Holden's stupidity.

May 11, 2009

Channel 10's AFL coverage this year is marked by a new funkiness, a new passion and more importantly a new song.

I think that part of the packaging of a television broadcast for any given season should include a song of some sort. It's a trick that's been employed for quite some time. The NSW Rugby League back in 1990 most famously used Tina Turner's "Simply The Best", the UEFA Champions League uses a theme called (oddly enough), the UEFA Champions League Anthem which is based on Handel's "Zadok the Priest". The AFL have themselves in the past used a few themes; most recently "Holy Grail" by Hunters & Collectors to some effect.

Perhaps though they should have properly thought through the song "Never Miss a Beat" by the Kaiser Chiefs for season 2009. If you listen to the chorus which they use, it is a perfectly sensible choice:

Take a look, take a look, take a lookat the kids on the streetNo they never miss a beatNo they never miss a beatNever miss a beatNever miss a beat, beat, beat, beatTake a look at the kids on the streetNo they never miss a beatNo they never miss a beatNever miss a beatNever miss aNever miss a beatNever miss a beat

... however (and regular readers will know that whenever you see this word, some scything observation is coming). The other verses of the song, I don't think either convey a message that the AFL want to put out:

What did you learn today?I learned nothin'What did you do today?I did nothin'What did you learn at school?I didn't goWhy didn't you go to school?I don't know

It's cool to know nothin'It's cool to know nothin'

Is the AFL somehow suggesting by inference that being an AFL player is congruous with being stupid? Is skipping school something that the AFL advises? If you then look at verse two, it's even more damaging:

Television's on the blinkThere's nothin' on itI really want to really big coatWith words on itWhat do you want for tea?I want crispsWhy didn't you join the team?I just didn't

The message I get from this song is that people shouldn't watch television, and that they shouldn't join any teams. How does that sound Channel 10? The song you have chosen for your coverage actively encourages kids not to watch your broadcasts. Either that's a really "courageous" move, or someone just did no do the research. Maybe that person who decided that is living proof that it really is cool to know nothin'.